For the average golfer this is a mystic question. Shaft manufacturers, club builders, and fitters all spend great amounts of time trying to understand how frequency and flex are related and how to best create an ideal golf shaft for differing swings, equipment, and profiles.

The question to be addressed: Why is one shaft that frequencies at 250 cpms labeled an “S” by one company and an “X” by another? Why does one shaft feel stiffer than another when they both have the same frequency? Shaft profiling has been around for a long time but it still baffles many people.

For an explanation we need to talk to the man responsible for the frequency chart. Kim Braley, who along with his father Dr. Joe Braley created the original Royal Precision/Brunswick Frequency Chart. Kim has designed the Rifle, Flighted Rifle, and Project X shafts among many others and currently 6 out of the top 10 ranked men players in the world and 10 out of the top 20 are playing shafts that he designed. His explanation was simple to understand. While two shafts may create the same number of cycles per second the height and depth of the amplitude curves may be different. Simply stated, the shaft with the shallowest amplitude will play stiffer. This is common among lighter weight shafts when compared to a heavier weight shaft. An example: On the PGA Tour players using 75 gram shafts play them about 10 cycles higher than they would use for a corresponding 65 gram shaft.

The next thing to address is standards in the industry. Many companies have what I call ego flexes. Since there is no standard in the industry many companies mark there shafts stiffer than they actually play compared to many of the “Tour” shafts. To put this in context, when shafts first came out with flex designations they were different than they are interpreted today. Originally they were “L” for ladies, “A” for average, “R” for regular stiff, “S” for Stiff, and “X” for extra stiff. These days the “A” flex has been co-opted as a senior shaft.

The bottom line, next time when looking for performance see a professional about your equipment needs. One that has the experience and equipment to find the shaft that works best for you.

Colin Kirwan

Pro-Fit Golf